Women Take 14th While Men Finish 21st in NCAA Division I Regional

11/12/2001

LEHIGH, Pa. – Shelby Pride (Bethel, Ohio) paved the way for the Marshall women taking 34th place while Casey Batey (Milton, W.Va.) led the men’s pack with a 52nd place finish Saturday at the NCAA Division I Regionals in Lehigh, Pa.

Pride marked a time of 22 minutes and 11.93 seconds as she led Marshall’s women to a 14-place finish out of 26 teams. Jennifer Merschoff (Ronkonoma, N.Y.) helped the Herd with her 55th place finish, while other scorers for the team included Sarah Corely (Fairmont, W.Va.), 68, Jessica Taylor (Fayetteville, W.Va.), 84, and Stephanie Eastman (Spencer, W.Va.), 102.

Batey’s 31:59.31 finish improved the Herd’s standing, yet the absence of runner Craig Swisher (Bidwell, Ohio), who could not compete due to illness, hurt the men’s team ranking. The men finished 21st out of 29 teams.

Other scorers for the men included Jason Pyles (Galipolis Ferry, W.Va.), 116, Robert Smith (Huntington, W.Va.), 143, Brad Koehler (Charleston, W.Va.), 154, and Brent Garrett (Charleston, W.Va.), 158.

Marni Kruppa of Georgetown took the women’s individual title with a time of 20:34.31 and also led her team to the top finish. Adrian Blincoe of Villanova finished first in the men’s competition with a time of 30:31.50, also leading his team to the men’s team title.